Associate Programme Specialist (Culture)

OVERVIEW OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POST

The Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity promotes the diversity of cultural expressions and the creative economy as vectors for sustainable development. Its main mission is to ensure the effective implementation and monitoring of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereafter ‘the 2005 Convention’) and the 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist (hereafter ‘the 1980 Recommendation’). The Entity fosters international cooperation by providing assistance to governments around the world to design, monitor and evaluate policies that promote the diversity of cultural expressions and the creative economy. It also coordinates and monitors the Convention’s statutory obligations, notably by providing support for the sound decision-making of the Convention’s governing bodies through the collection, analysis and dissemination of all relevant information, statistics and good practices in the culture and creative sectors.

Under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for Culture, the general supervision of the Chief of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity and the direct supervision of the Head of the Statutory Meetings and Research Unit, the incumbent participates in tasks required for the development, monitoring and evaluation of policy and research activities to promote the diversity of cultural expressions, in particular through the Parties’ quadrennial periodic reports.

The incumbent also contributes to the implementation of initiatives related to UNESCO’s Global Priorities (Africa and Gender Equality), priority groups and transversal thematic areas, such as Culture and Education, Culture and Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and Youth.

Long Description

In particular, the incumbent shall:

• Contribute to the design and implementation of knowledge production and knowledge management activities through participation in the monitoring tasks on Parties’ quadrennial periodic reporting, in accordance with Articles 9 and 19 of the 2005 Convention and their Operational Guidelines. This includes research tasks to collect and analyse information, statistics and good practices from around the world in the fields of cultural policies, cultural and creative industries and the role of culture in sustainable development.
• Participate in the preparation of a quadrennial global report on the implementation of the 2005 Convention and other knowledge and research products;
• Contribute to the work of the governing bodies to the Convention, including drafting working and information documents;
• Maintain relations with experts, and relevant institutions and UNESCO services to:

Long Description

1. successfully realize knowledge production and knowledge management activities;
2. gather and maintain accurate and up-to-date information and statistics to monitor issues relevant to the field of the diversity of cultural expressions that can serve as input to briefings, speeches, interviews, reports, recommendations, etc.;
3. Support the work of colleagues within the Entity and Culture Sector by providing and sharing information and data to support policy developments.

Long Description

COMPETENCIES (Core / Managerial)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in the field of culture, political science, law, international relations, or related field.

Work Experience

• At least two (2) years of professional experience in cultural policy research and/or monitoring or a related field, of which preferably one year acquired at international level.

Skills/Competencies

• Strong research and analytical skills, in particular ability to collect and analyse information and data from various sources.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, in particular the ability to collect, synthesize and communicate information and to write documents in a clear and precise manner.
• Strong planning and organizational skills; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan; ability to work under tight deadlines as well as flexibility to adjust work schedules and priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to interact efficiently with a wide range of partners and stakeholders within and outside the Organization.

• Demonstrated ability to work in a team and to maintain effective working relationships in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment.
• Strong IT skills, including the ability to use computerized systems and applications, as well as IT systems in view of document/publication production.

Languages 

• Excellent knowledge of English (spoken and written) or French and good knowledge of the other language.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Work Experience

• Experience in policy research and knowledge production activities in the fields covered by the 2005 Convention, namely cultural policies, cultural and creative industries and the role of culture in sustainable development.
• Experience in implementing monitoring and reporting mechanisms of international scope in the above-mentioned fields.

Skills/Competencies

• Good knowledge of the culture conventions and programmes of UNESCO.
• Advanced knowledge of data processing and data analysis tools.

Languages

• Knowledge of another/other official language(s) (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) of UNESCO.